Table for Two
by Yukishimo
Summary: [ElenaxTseng] It's been two years since he asked her to dinner, and she's beginning to doubt it will ever happen. One shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own _Final Fantasy VII_ or its characters. You win again, Square Enix!

Author's note: Happy belated Valentine's Day, everyone! This is a little something I scribbled to honour the occasion, but I didn't manage to get it up till today. Ah, well. Be warned: here there be sap. As well as some unabashed OTP-love.

Rated for the contents of Rufus' letter and Reno's card. Just to be safe.

-

Table for Two

The card and bouquet of roses lying on her desk did very little to lighten Elena's mood as she entered her office. Instead of mollifying her, it reminded her only too painfully of their sender's absence. She had decided on her way to work that there was nothing more depressing than spending Valentine's Day alone in her office while the man she was supposed to be spending it with was off on the other side of the continent on a mission.

Leaving her coat on the hook on the back of the door, she straightened her suit jacket, sat down at her desk and decided to look at the card first. Opening it, she read over the lines of carefully penned script, and a small, rueful smile touched her lips as she looked at the elegant signature.

_All my love,_

_Tseng_

She sighed. Her relationship with her former boss, now partner, was a tentative affair. She was so shy and he so professional, it was a wonder it had ever happened at all. She supposed it had come about naturally after what they had gone through together at the hands of Kadaj and his brothers.

She also supposed that ordeal was the very reason for the distance between them. Granted, in the months that they had been together, there had no arguments, and Tseng only treated her with the utmost courtesy, but there was still a sort of reluctance. Emotions were delicate after their ordeal, and it seemed as if both of them were too wary of pushing the other further into their attachment for fear of frightening them away. Oddly enough, there were no real physical anxieties: they kissed and embraced like any lovers, and she had stayed over at his more than once. But while she had no complaint with his lovemaking, far from it, it seemed they were both still waiting for the last scars inflicted by the remnants, the ones that couldn't be seen, to heal.

Valentine's Day had seemed the ideal opportunity for that. Tseng had told her he wanted to romance her properly, and had booked a table for two at one of Edge's finest and most in-demand restaurants. Dating the director of the Turks had its perks. Or, at least, would have, if they weren't Turks first, lovers second. He'd phoned her early this morning, apologised and told her that he'd have to cancel their dinner plans as a mission had come up and that he had to leave for Junon immediately.

She snorted slightly. Fate, if indeed such a thing existed, seemed to have something against them. She recalled the day, over two years ago now, standing in that chamber of the Temple of the Ancients - the day that Tseng had first asked her to dinner. Sephiroth, of course, had made sure that date never happened. Later, after his recovery, Tseng had taken her to one side and told her that he intended to honour his invitation, if she would still accept it, as soon as they could find an evening to be alone together. But there had been too much to do after Sephiroth's defeat, what with Rufus' illness and the rebuilding of Shinra. Then, of course, came the Northern Cave. And now it looked like their dinner date was doomed never to happen.

She read over the card again, let her eyes linger over Tseng's signature. She thought she could still catch the hint of his deep, masculine scent clinging to the card, mingling with the scent of the roses. She closed her eyes, breathed it in, and sighed yet again. Setting the card down on her desk, she went to find some water for her flowers. That done, she reached reluctantly for the first of the papers piled in her inbox.

February 14th was not a date meant for seasoned assassins.

-

The rest of the day wasn't much better. The morning was tedious, filling out report after mind-numbing report. She occasionally glanced at the card on her desk, but it made her more sad than anything else, and she wasn't fool enough to expect a phone call from Tseng while he was on assignment.

_Worst Valentine's Day ever_, she decided as she took her frustration out on her paperwork. She'd broken three pen nibs already that morning.

Lunchtime found her in the break room with Reno and Rude, while Rude tried to hammer some life into the coffee machine and Reno leaned back on his chair, dipping his hand into the box of heart-shaped chocolates he'd procured from God only knew where, and peeling a pair of lacy red knickers from the latest in his small mountain of cards.

"Sixth pair today," he announced, beaming. "I think it's a new record, yo."

Elena glared. Rude dignified his partner with a "..." and gave the coffee machine another futile smack.

Obviously picking up on the slight chill in the atmosphere, Reno sat up and regarded at them both. "God, you two are quiet today. Well - okay, Rude, you're _always_ quiet, yo - but what's your excuse, Elena?"

"Bad day," she answered shortly. In an attempt to change the subject, she said, "Rude, I'll have tea. Don't worry about the coffee machine."

Reno looked at her, surprised. "What's the matter, Elena? Don't you and Tseng have plans? You came runnin' in here the other day, full of the joys of spring 'cause he'd booked that restaurant for ya."

"He had to cancel; he had a mission."

"Oh... oh, yeah. Recon in Junon." He reached out and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Sorry, babe. That really sucks. Hell, if there was a couple made for today, I'd say it was you two, yo."

She forced a shrug. "Yeah, well, these things happen." Not wanting to talk about it any more, she tried to force attention away from herself. "What about you, Rude? Any plans for tonight?"

"Only the usual," he replied, sounding as unwilling to talk about Valentine's Day as she was.

Reno was grinning now. "Lemme guess," he said. "Seventh Heaven, right?"

Elena looked from Reno to Rude, who coughed very slightly and turned away, though not before she saw the red tinge to his ears and neck. Putting Tseng to the back of her mind for now, she asked slyly, "Oh? And what are you going to be doing at Seventh Heaven, Rude?"

"The same as last year," Rude replied quietly. "Sitting in a corner, having a couple of drinks, thinking about asking Tifa out for dinner, having a few more drinks, thinking about it again, paying, then leaving alone."

Elena sighed; Reno rolled his eyes.

"Man, you two are depressin', yo. But I know the cure." He picked up the box of chocolates and rattled it invitingly. "C'mon. Let's stuff ourselves stupid. Chocolate's cheap this time of year; I've stocked up."

Elena and Rude exchanged a glance before shrugging and accepting Reno's strangely generous offer.

They had managed to demolish a box between them and were just getting started on the next one and discussing how much Valentine's Day sucked, when there was a smart rap on the door and President Rufus strode in. He took in the scene with folded arms, one perfectly arched eyebrow and a vaguely amused expression.

"Having fun?"

"Hardly, sir," Reno scoffed. "They were bein' misery-guts so I decided to lighten the mood, yo."

"Indeed," Rufus said dryly. Then he tapped the side of edge of his mouth, indicating the chocolate smear staining the corresponding spot on Reno. The redhead grinned guiltily, wiping at it with his jacket sleeve. Elena rolled her eyes. Second-in-command of the Turks or not, Reno could be little more than an overgrown kid.

"So, Boss," he went on, "how's your Valentine's Day been? Get anything interestin' in the post?"

"Now that you mention it, I did receive a passionately-worded letter telling me to - and I quote - "burn in hell, Shinra Planet-murderer". Oh, yes, and to do something unspeakable to myself with the sharp end of Sephiroth's Masamune."

Needless to say, not everyone had taken the news that Rufus Shinra was still alive and kicking as well as Cloud Strife and his friends. The Turks had been working _very_ long hours lately.

"I may need to ask one of you to track down the source of the charming thing so I can deliver my reply," Rufus went on, gesturing idly.

"We're on it, sir," Reno said, patting his EMR. "Anything else we can do for ya?"

"Yes, actually, I wished to speak to Elena."

Upon hearing her name, Elena jumped to attention, hoping she wasn't coated in chocolate like Reno. "Yes, sir?"

"Would it be too much trouble for you to do some overtime tonight?" Something passed over the President's face - the shadow of a smirk. "Just a couple of hours. A few... important matters have been left unattended for far too long, and I'm anxious to see them resolved."

Elena's heart sank. Overtime - on Valentine's Day? Did the man have no soul at all? "What's that?"

Rufus only smirked. "You'll find out in due course." Before Elena could protest, he went on quickly, "Reno, Rude, could I see you both in my office for a few minutes? Elena, if you could get back to work now; it's a busy day today."

Elena opened her mouth to argue - how could he expect her to work extra hours today of all days? But then she shut her mouth again. It wasn't as if she had any other plans. Not any more.

Nodding reluctantly, she said through gritted teeth, "Yes, sir."

Rufus was still smirking. "Thank you, Elena." With Reno and Rude in tow, he left the room.

A few seconds later, Elena was continuing Rude's work with the coffee machine. Though coffee was far from her mind.

-

She watched the clock the rest of that day. To her increasing dismay, her PHS was still neglecting to ring. She considered giving Tseng a call, just to say hi if nothing else, but then decided against it. If he was still on the job, she didn't want to disturb him.

But she found herself rereading her card more than once, contemplating what she could do when Tseng returned. He'd been forced to cancel the table, but they didn't have to go out to dinner. She was more than capable of whipping something edible up and there was a decent bottle of wine in her kitchen. A quiet night in was something they could both appreciate, right?

As the afternoon wore on, she became increasingly aware of activity going on in the corridor outside her office. She could barely concentrate on her paperwork, and God only knew it was dull enough. What the hell was going on out there?

Then she heard a laugh. It was low, and quickly stifled, but she still recognised it as Reno's.

That was the fourth broken pen nib of the day. So, Reno and Rude were getting to slack off while she was stuck in the office, filling out mission reports? Ugh! She could kill Rufus. This was clearly discrimination, of the "your Valentine's Day plans are cancelled; let me rub it in your face"-type. She had half a mind to march straight over to his office and give him a slap he wouldn't forget in a hurry...

Except slapping the man who signs your pay cheque is usually a very bad idea.

The end of the day came. Or at least, the end of the day for her co-workers. Oh, yeah, it was all right for them. Rude could take off to Seventh Heaven now and spend the rest of the evening yearning for Tifa Lockhart from afar, while Reno could decide which of the six pairs of knickers he liked the most and track down their owner.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Elena_, she thought bitterly.

Her bad mood worsened when Reno slammed his way into the office cheerfully. "Well, Rufus is away and that's me and Rude off now, too, yo."

Talk about rubbing salt in the proverbial wound. She grimaced. "Have fun."

He winked roguishly. "You, too! Well, night, babe!" He turned to leave, but before Elena could properly envision aiming for a decent headshot, an afterthought seemed to hit him and he turned back. "Oh, yeah, before I forget, yo... I got a present for ya."

Before she could ask what, a thick wad of papers was thrust into her hands.

"Yeah, so, if you could just take this stuff over to Tseng's office when you got a minute and ditch it in his inbox, yo."

"No! Do it your -"

But he cut her off before she could finish, patting her on the cheek and running for the door. "You're a star, Elena! ThanksbyehappyValentine'sDayseeyatomorrowyo!"

She lunged for him, but he was too quick and before she could do anything, he was taking off down the corridor, cackling all the way, the curious smell of home cooking in his wake.

Now she wanted to cry. No, Rufus didn't have the first clue about human emotion, and yes, Reno made it his business to be annoying as all hell, but this... this was too much, even for the woman who'd endured torture at the hands of three Sephiroth clones.

Her first urge was to rip up the damn papers and use them to start a fire and burn down the building, but after the first wave of rage came the resignation. She waited till her eyes had stopped stinging, straightened her suit and walked up the corridor to Tseng's office. She was obviously the only one still in the building; the lights were down and her footsteps echoed around her. She suppressed a shiver. She had never been good with shadows and empty places, and now the memory of the Northern Cave returned: the deathly silence and choking mist, the unnerving feeling that she wasn't alone, just before the bullets had started flying...

She reached the door to Tseng's office, unable to read the brass name plate in the gloom. She was about to knock, then remembered he was away. The unwelcome memory of the crater pressed around her, and her hands shook as she turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

_Oh, God, Tseng, what I wouldn't give for you to be here now._

His scent. She was aware of it instantly, the subdued, familiar, reassuring aroma, permeating the still air of his office as it always did. But that wasn't what stole her breath away.

The office was dark, all of the lights off. But the window blinds had been taken away, revealing the breathtaking view of uptown Edge, lights glittering golden beneath her, stretching away into velvety blackness. And that wasn't all. Tseng's desk had been moved into one corner, and in its place was a table covered with a pristine white cloth, lit by two slender candles and laid with a meal for two people.

The papers slid from her fingers. She took a tentative step forwards, in case this was a dream that would disappear at any sudden movement.

It stayed. She could only stare in wonderment.

"Do you like it?" Behind her. A low, masculine voice. His voice.

She turned, heart thrumming, hardly daring to believe it.

He stepped from the shadows behind her, into the soft glow of the candlelight. It gleamed silkily across his black hair, made his skin seem to glow, his dark eyes shine. He was smiling at her, a warm, soft, completely unguarded smile that she had never seen before.

"Tseng?" she whispered. "How...? What...?"

And then she was in his arms. She felt his hand on her hair, the silky caress of his own against her cheek as he held her close, the steady beat of his heart against her cheek. For a moment, she just stayed there, her own arms about his neck, breathing him in, feeling his smile. Then, all the frustration of the day, all the disappointment, the memories that had attacked her just moments before, they all welled up and spilled over, and she was sobbing uncontrollably, shivering in his arms and weeping into his chest. His embrace became closer, his lips pressing reassuringly to her hair, one hand stroking her back as they both waited for the tears to stop.

Finally, she stopped trembling and the tears stopped falling, and she was finally able to look up at him. He was still smiling, his arms still tight around her.

"Is it really that awful, Elena?"

"Tseng," she breathed. "What are you doing here? What about your mission?"

"Far easier than we'd anticipated. I arrived back a few hours ago."

"Then... why..." She struggled to swallow this information. "Why didn't you come and see me?"

His smile quirked. "I wanted to surprise you. And I wanted to make up for having to cancel our table tonight. So, instead of taking you to a restaurant, I made the restaurant come to you." He gestured towards the candlelit table. "I phoned Rufus, asked him to make sure you would still be in the building. He was only too happy to help me arrange this. 'About time, Tseng,' I believe his exact words were."

She shook her head, stunned, as it all finally made sense. Rufus' cryptic words to her in the break room that lunchtime... so that was what he'd been talking about.

She felt ready to cry all over again. As if sensing this, Tseng lifted her chin gently, wiping away the tears that lingered on her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. Then, lifting her hand, he kissed it before covering it with his own.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I had no idea you would be so upset."

Elena smiled tearfully. "I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you," she confessed, fixing him with her fiercest look.

He smiled in return. "Well, if it helps, I would much prefer the latter." His fingers stroked across hers, sending a light shiver through her body.

"And I left your present at home," she added.

"That's all right. I have everything I want right here in front of me." He linked his fingers through hers, gazing at her with a look that was so intensely passionate that she could have fallen in love with him in that moment if she hadn't done so the day she became a Turk.

She realised she was blushing. To cover it, she cast about for something to say.

She motioned towards the table. "Where did you get all of this?"

"Amazing, isn't it, what Reno and Rude can do when you give them a recipe book between them."

She laughed, trying to get a proper mental image in her mind. Reno. Rude. Aprons. Frilly ones. Oh, yes. "Well, it looks wonderful."

"And that's not all." He gestured towards the chest of drawers next to the door, on top of which sat a tray bearing two champagne flutes and a bottle in a bucket of crushed ice.

"Shall we?"

She nodded, and watched as Tseng popped the cork and poured out two glasses before passing one to her.

"Donated by the President himself," he said wryly. "He assured me it's marvellous."

"Yeah," she said. "Though you do realise, after the afternoon I've had, you would totally deserve it if I splashed this over you?"

"I do," he replied. A faint smirk reached his lips. "Though I'm hoping you won't."

"Hmm..." She narrowed her eyes. "Convince me."

Chuckling quietly, a sound rarely heard from him, he said, "Shall I propose a toast?"

"What to?"

He considered. "To you. Yes. To you, Elena." His expression deepened then, his eyes becoming warmer, his face revealing open affection, and a hint of vulnerability. "I could never ask for a more perfect partner, lover and friend. And I hope you can continue to accept me as all three, too. I think it's time we put the past behind us and looked towards the future."

"Yeah." She smiled happily. "Yeah, I like the sound of that."

Their glasses chimed together harmoniously, the candlelight glittering through the champagne. Taking a sip and feeling the smooth, grand flavour spread across her tongue, Elena decided Rufus was very much forgiven for his "Valentine's overtime" ruse.

"I've got another one," she said.

"Oh?"

She nodded her head towards the table, where their meal still waited. "To our long-overdue date. I think we should sit down and start eating before it gets cold and we miss this one, too."

Tseng's smile grew a little as he set his glass on the table. "I agree. It's been too long, hasn't it?"

Before she could reply, he had taken her in his arms again. Looking up into those dark, beautiful eyes, the depth and intensity of the emotion, of the love, she saw there was enough to silence her as he leaned down and kissed her.

_The End_


End file.
